IT'S hard to cut back on grocery items you think you need, but if you can find a way to do so you could end up with a pocket full of cash.
Just ask Holly Smith, who runs the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group, who gave up some of her supermarket regulars- and it's saved her and her family a fortune.
Not only did she stick to it for a month, but Holly has replaced the items for good and will never go back.
The mum-of-three stopped buying toilet cleaner in favour of a cheap bottle of fizzy drink and it leaves her toilet sparkling.
While a bottle the liquid stuff can be as cheap as £1, the loo tablets and scented discs will cost you much more.
With that in mind, getting your loo spick and span can be a pricey affair, setting you back as much as £10 a month.
But Holly spends just 75p on a bargain bottle of cola and swears it's so much better.
"I refused to buy toilet cleaner as cheap bottles of coca-cola work better," she told Fabulous.
"The 17p coke, not the expensive stuff. It works better than the leading brands. You just need to let it soak for a few hours."
But that's not the only cleaning product she's ditched as she no longer buys brand-name stain remover either.
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"Instead I just buy a 69p bag of soda crystals," Holly said.
"People spend about £6 for a tub of ‘vanish’ when soda crystals do the same thing."
A 1kg bag of soda crystals lasts her about two months while a tub of Vanish the same size costs as much as £8.
Holly also uses an Ecoegg to do her washing which saves her a whopping £200 a year.
The egg replaces ordinary laundry detergent and fabric conditioner and uses two types of mineral pellets, plus a small amount of detergent, encased in a recyclable egg.
I refused to buy toilet cleaner as cheap bottles of coca-cola work better.
Holly says it works out to be less than 10p a wash, compared to 12-18p, or more, traditional washing methods use.
But if you use both a liquid detergent and a fabric softener, you're looking at double the price.
It's not just cleaning items Holly's cut out but she stopped buying meat from the supermarket each week too.
Instead, she buys in bulk when it's cheap and vacuum seals it for later.
"When I noticed meat prices were going up, I invested in a Vacuum-Sealer machine on Amazon," she explained.
"I buy my meat in bulk and vacuum seal. I also use it for any meal leftovers (such as homemade soup or pasta sauce) that way nothing goes to waste."
Averaged out over a year, Holly and her family save about £300 on this alone – and it helps that she stopped buying ready-made meals too.
Ditching pricey convenient packs, the mum-of-three pre-cooks meals and freezes them for nights when she's too tired to cook.
"That way I have meals which I can quickly microwave. It takes the urge out of ordering a takeaway!"
You can find more tips and hacks on Holly’s Coupon Queen Blog and Instagram.
Meanwhile, I work in Morrisons and these are my top three fail-safe tips to getting the best bargains.
Plus this woman works in a supermarket and all her customers say the same stupid thing at the checkout.
And I’m a mum-of-six – here’s how I feed my kids their 5-a-day EVERY day for just £1 per meal.
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